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Extracted Text (OCR)
Case 22-1426, Document ON AG6G 3536038, Page168 of 258
Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 204-3 Filed 04/16/21 Page 166 of 348
3. The NPA Did Not Violate Department Policy Relating to Deportation
of Criminal Aliens
During the negotiations, the USAO rejected a defense-offered provision prohibiting the
USAO from “request[ing], initiat[ing], or in any way encourag[ing] immigration authorities to
institute immigration proceedings” against two female assistants. However, OPR considered
whether the April 28, 1995 memorandum imposed any obligation on the USAO to prosecute
Epstein’s two female assistants who were known to be foreign nationals—as Villafafia urged in
her prosecution memorandum—and thus trigger their removal, or conversely, whether it precluded
the USAO from agreeing not to prosecute them as part of a negotiated resolution. OPR found
nothing in the policy that created a clear and unambiguous standard in either regard.
The Attorney General’s April 28, 1995 memorandum regarding “Deportation of Criminal
Aliens” directed federal prosecutors to become involved actively and directly in the process of
removing criminal aliens from the United States, and, along with USAM § 9-73.520, provided that
“Tajll deportable criminal aliens should be deported unless extraordinary circumstances exist.”
However, Epstein’s two assistants were not “deportable” unless and until convicted of a crime that
would have triggered their removal. But neither the policy memorandum nor the USAM imposed
an obligation on the USAO to prosecute or secure a conviction against a foreign national nor did
either provision preclude the USAO from declining to prosecute an alien using the same broad
discretion that otherwise applies to charging decisions.
The policy guidance also requires “prompt and close coordination” with immigration
officials in cases involving alien defendants and specifies that prosecutors must notify immigration
authorities before engaging in plea negotiations with alien defendants. OPR learned during its
investigation that an ICE agent participated in the Epstein investigation in its early stages.
Moreover, because the USAO never engaged in plea negotiations with the two female assistants,
who, in any event, had not been charged and were therefore not “defendants,” no further
notification was required.
IV. THE EVIDENCE DOES NOT ESTABLISH THAT THE SUBJECTS WERE
INFLUENCED BY IMPROPER MOTIVES TO INCLUDE IN THE NPA TERMS
FAVORABLE TO EPSTEIN OR TO OTHERWISE EXTEND BENEFITS TO
EPSTEIN
OPR investigated whether any of the subjects—Acosta, Sloman, Menchel, Lourie, or
Villafafia—was influenced by corruption, bias, or other improper motive, such as Epstein’s wealth,
status, or political associations, to include terms in the NPA that were favorable to Epstein, or
whether such motives otherwise affected the outcome of the federal investigation. OPR
considered the case-specific reasons the subjects identified as the motivation for the USAO’s
July 31, 2007 “term sheet” and Acosta’s approval of the NPA in September 2007. OPR also
thoroughly examined various factors forming the basis for allegations that the subjects were
motivated by improper influences, including the subjects’ preexisting relationships with defense
counsel; the subjects’ numerous meetings with Epstein’s team of nationally known attorneys;
emails between the subjects—particularly Villafafia—and defense counsel that appeared friendly,
casual, and deferential to defense counsel; and inclusion in the NPA ofa broad provision declining
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Extracted Information
Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00021340.jpg |
| File Size | 1022.1 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.6% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 3,561 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 20:10:53.776349 |